Slovenia starts erecting razor wire on Croatia border

Government says measure is to direct flow of refugees, rather than reduce numbers, adding that border will stay open.

11 Nov 2015 16:06 GMT

Europe is facing a record influx of refugees and is deeply divided on how to act [Reuters]

Slovenia has started erecting a razor wire fence along parts of its border with Croatia amid heavy security to "direct the flow of migrants" into the country, the government has said.

Army trucks carrying wire fencing arrived in the border village of Veliki Obrez in southeastern Slovenia early on Wednesday to begin work on the barrier.

Slovenia does not plan to "significantly reduce" the flow of migrants into the country, Bostjan Sefic, state secretary at the interior ministry, said.

"The barriers do not have a purpose of preventing arrivals to Slovenia or significantly reducing them... Their purpose is to direct the flow of migrants to controlled entrance points," Sefic told a news conference.

About 180,000 people, many fleeing war in Syria and Afghanistan, have entered Slovenia since mid-October, most of them heading north to Austria and then Germany.

Europe is facing a record influx of refugees and is deeply divided on how to act.

European Union leaders are due to meet in Malta for a special migration summit later on Wednesday to try to iron out their differences.

The main point of disagreement in the EU is over mandatory national quotas to share out the number of asylum seekers among the 28 member states.

Hungary, which closed its border to refugees in October, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia all strongly oppose the quotas.

Slovenia is facing more immediate and pressing logistical concerns. Prime Minister Miro Cerar said on Tuesday that the country, the smallest on the refugee route, does not have the resources to shelter large numbers over the harsh winter if Austria shut its border.